Formation of microelectronic devices on substrates often requires multiple layers of thin films which are deposited in a deposition chamber, such as, for example, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber, etc. An electrostatic chuck is often used to electrostatically retain a substrate on a substrate support during the deposition process. Direct current (DC) power, from a DC power supply, is typically provided to an electrode in the chuck to electrostatically retain the substrate on the chuck.
In addition, radio frequency (RF) energy is also often supplied to an electrode in the substrate support to control the energy of incoming ions travelling toward the substrate In some cases, the DC and RF energy are provided to the same electrode. For example, high current DC power is delivered to one or more electrodes in the electrostatic chuck while isolating the RF power from the DC current. Vacuum-style capacitors have been used to address this issue. However, the inventors have noted that these capacitors are large (e.g., about 2-3 inches) and, therefore, use up valuable space. Furthermore, in order to meet increased power demands in an electrostatic chuck, even larger capacitors would be necessary, thereby further using up valuable space. Other conventional designs include in-line arrays of capacitors. However, the inventors believe that the in-line array is also inefficient because additional capacitors must be added to meet added power requirements of the electrostatic chuck.
Therefore, the inventors have provided embodiments of improved capacitor assemblies for coupling RF and DC energy to an electrode.